Monthly Archives August 2009

Friday Fun Link – Guess The Famous Novels From Their Opening Lines (August 21, 2009)

I got 12/16 and once I saw the four I missed, realised I probably should've got 16/16.  If you want a hint, mouseover the following text…the site fills in the titles automatically as you guess correctly so picking names of classic novels at random is a good way to cheat…and for the record, I didn't […]

Kidlandia: Who's More Excited – Daddy or Pace?

Usually when I read TechCrunch, I find stuff that gets me excited about some new web site or technology.  And don't get me wrong – the make-your-own-Medieval map site, Kidlandia – is something I find pretty cool too.  Still, it's rare to find something that gets me excited about technology on behalf of Pace.  But […]

"I was in front of him, what happened with my phone?"

Instead of doing literal translations (word X in English is word Y in some other language), I read somewhere that Google Translations uses its massive processing power to analyze words, phrases and other elements of language in different versions of the same works that are provided on web sites, in scanned poems, essays and books […]

Request for Participation: MLIS Alumni Survey (WILIS 2)

Man, feels like old times doing a FIMS-related post.  When was the last time I used the “LibrarySchool” tag anyhow?  The following e-mail was sent out to recent FIMS MLIS Grads (2004-2008).  The deadline is extended until August 23 so if you didn't receive the e-mail, why not consider participating in this survey by e-mailing […]

Music monday – "You never need to doubt it/I'll make you so sure about it"

No less an expert than Paul McCartney is on record as saying that “God Only Knows” is the best love song ever written.  Below is the vocals-only track from the original “Pet Sounds” recording sessions.  If you click through to YouTube, you'll find other acapella versions of some other “Pet Sounds” songs.  Sloop John B.” […]

What The F**k Is Social Media?

Below are a couple great presentations I came across via the Slideshare newsletter.  The first one is from a year ago and does a bang-up job of explaining what social media is and why it's important.  The second is a sequel of sorts that updates some of the information for today.  This is especially timely […]

Crop Checkin'

On the long weekend, we made a loop hitting Fort Qu'Appelle (a resort community an hour outside Regina), Katepwa Beach, our family cottage on the other side of the lake, our farm, Indian Head where I grew up then down to Weyburn to spend the night with Shea's folks at their camp site.  Here's one […]

Friday Fun Link – BookSeer (August 14, 2009)

Some of the folks on MetaFilter are reporting bugs but after a few trials (admittedly with fairly well-known and recent books), I had no problems with BookSeer.  It's nothing ground-breaking – simply a pretty cool interface to present the book recommendations provided by Amazon and LibraryThing in a unique, streamlined fashion. 

Had A Conversation with A Co-Worker Today Who Said…

“I honestly believe that I have the best job in the library.”  That made me think, shouldn't a library's goal be to hire people who *all* say that (sincerely, of course), no matter what their job at the library is?  Sounds like a pretty good HR Strategy to me!

A Fun Math Puzzle

I used to love any sort of riddles, word games, math puzzles and the like when I was younger.  So when  I came across this one on Reddit tonight and it brought back my childhood.  (Er, that is if my childhood was spent trying to figure out how to time the stock market perfectly!) My […]